Third Ordinary Sunday of the Year

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Saturday, 30 January 2016 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the words from the Sacred Scriptures, beginning from how David was rebuked by God through the prophet Nathan for his unlawful and sinful seizing of the wife of one of his subordinates, and made her to be his own. As a result, God punished David for his insubordination and wayward attitude.

Then in the Gospel today we heard about the Lord Jesus Who made a storm calm and Who commanded even the wind and the waves to obey Him and to spare His boat and the disciples within it. We see the power and the authority of God being on display, where He made clear that if one is to have faith in Him, then he or she will not be disappointed, for in Him alone lies all power and all comfort.

How do these two readings match up together, brethren? It is where we see disobedience in both, in the first reading the disobedience and lack of faith due to an action that brought a faithful servant of God to sin, and in the Gospel we witnessed a lack of faith where the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ lost their faith in Him in the face of danger and certain death.

This lack of faith was what brought the people involved into a state where they would be vulnerable to the temptation of Satan, which was proven by what David had done with Bathsheba, the wife of his own subordinate, whom he took to be his own wife after he plotted to kill her husband to hide his own adulterous relationship with her. This was a moment of weakness, when faith was overcome by the lust and the desires of men.

Then, heeding the message of the Gospel today, we also should see how the storm in the lake is a mirror of our own lives. The storm is a representation of the dangers and the challenges that we face in our daily lives as we live as followers and disciples of our Lord. The boat is a representation of the Church which unites all the believers and the followers of the Lord, with the Lord Himself at the helm.

During such situation, with violent waves and strong winds, it is understandable that our human instincts would tell us and convince us to jump from the boat and abandon the boat that is taking in water and is sinking rapidly, but if everyone is to abandon the boat and jump into the water, they themselves would be swallowed by the powerful waves, be brought under and perish.

Thus, it is a lesson and a reminder for all of us, that all of us should remain faithful to the Lord our God, and cling strongly to Him in faith, and all of us should resist the temptations to abandon Him for other good things, the temptations of life, the temptations of pleasure and temporary satisfaction of either the body or the soul. Let us all heed this lesson as we continue to live our lives, so that we will always be faithful to our Lord and God.

May God bless us all in this life, and may He strengthen our resolve to live ever more in accordance with His will. Let us not be afraid or worry if we make a mistake, but let us do what king David, His faithful servant had done, in humbly seeking His forgiveness and mercy. Let us all be reunited in the Lord and become worthy once again to receive His grace and blessings. God be with us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 30 January 2016 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)

Mark 4 : 35-41

At that time, on the same day, when evening had come, Jesus said to His disciples, “Let us go across to the other side.” So they left the crowd, and took Him away in the boat He had been sitting in, and other boats set out with Him.

Then a storm gathered and it began to blow a gale. The waves spilled over into the boat, so that it was soon filled with water. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. They woke Him up, and said, “Master, do You not care if we drown?” And rising up, Jesus rebuked the wind, and ordered the sea, “Quiet now! Be still!”

The wind dropped, and there was a great calm. Then Jesus said to them, “Why are you so frightened? Do you still have no faith?” But they were terrified, and they said to one another, “Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

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Saturday, 30 January 2016 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)

Psalm 50 : 12-13, 14-15, 16-17

Create in me, o God, a pure heart; give me a new and steadfast spirit. Do not cast me out of Your presence nor take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Give me again the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will show wrongdoers Your ways and sinners will return to You.

Deliver me, o God, from the guilt of blood, and of Your justice I shall sing aloud. O Lord, open my lips, and I will declare Your praise.

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Saturday, 30 January 2016 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)

2 Samuel 12 : 1-7a, 10-17

So YHVH sent the prophet Nathan to David. Nathan went to the king and said to him, “There were two men in a city : one was rich; the other, poor. The rich man had many sheep and cattle, but the poor man had only one little ewe lamb he had bought. He himself fed it and it grew up with him and his children.”

It shared his food, drank from his cup and slept on his lap. It was like a daughter to him. Now a traveller came to the rich man, but he would not take from his own flock or herd to prepare food for the traveller. Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared that for his visitor.”

David was furious because of this man and told Nathan, “As YHVH lives, the man who has done this deserves death! He must return the lamb fourfold for acting like this and showing no compassion.” Nathan said to David, “You are this man!”

“Now the sword will never be far from your family because you have despised Me and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite for yourself. Thus says YHVH : Your misfortune will rise from your own house! I will take your wives from you and give them to your neighbour who shall lie with them in broad daylight. What you did was done secretly, but what I do will be done before Israel in broad daylight.”

David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against YHVH.” Nathan answered him, “YHVH has forgiven your sin; you shall not die. However, because you have dared to despise YHVH by doing such a thing, the child that is born to you shall die.” Then Nathan left and went to his house.

YHVH struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David and it became sick. David entreated God for the child; he kept a strict fast and lay on the ground the whole night. The elders of his house asked him to rise from the ground but he refused. Nor did he join them to eat.

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Friday, 29 January 2016 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the sin which David committed in his life, the sin of adultery and a sin of murder, as he fell in love with the wife of his own commander, Uriah the Hittite, and desiring her, Bathsheba, to be his own wife. To that extent, and to hide the fact that he had committed adultery with her, David as the king tried to cover his sinful act.

But whatever is made secret, all will be revealed and be known to the Lord our God Who knows it all, and Who sees it all. King David in his desperation tried to bring Uriah to sleep with his wife in order to cover up the wicked deed which he had committed, but he who was devoted, loyal and faithful to his king refused to do so. This brought David to a dilemma, as if Uriah did not do so, then the scandal between him and Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife would be known to the public.

And in the end therefore, both lust, desire and also fear caused David to plot for the death of his own loyal and faithful servant, a great sin in the sight of the Lord our God. Through this we can see how dangerous is the force and power of desire, lust, greed, fear and all of those negative emotions on us, as unchecked, and if we allow these to affect our lives, then we may bring ourselves to the corruption of sin.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is a reminder to all of us, to be always vigilant against all the allures and the temptations of sin and of the devil, as even someone as faithful and devoted as king David could fall to its lure and trap. But this event also showed all of us that even though God resents sinners and shows His wrath against those who have sinned against Him, but if the sinners desire and genuinely pursue true repentance, then there is hope for all of them.

God pronounced His anger and punishment for David and for his family which He made clear through the prophets, how He would withdraw the graces and blessings intended for him and for all of his descendants because of his disobedience, just as what He had done with Saul, the first king of Israel, who disobeyed the Lord and ended up losing everything, for God transferred His grace and favour from him to David.

What made the difference was that David showed humility and the true and sincere desire to repent from all of his wicked acts and sinfulness, whereas Saul remained adamant that he was doing the right thing, and even tried to explain his way out of trouble. But he could not outsmart the Lord, or pretending that he was doing the right thing while he did not, and that was why Saul fell, while David was forgiven.

The lesson for all of us is that each and every one of us has the potential in us to be forgiven by God, and for all the multitudes of our sins and wickedness, there is indeed the potential for forgiveness and mercy, but these do not come free and easy for us. All those who thought that God’s mercy is freely given without condition are sorely mistaken in the account that His mercy needs to be accepted with a sincere heart, and with a sincere and genuine devotion towards repentance.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all today ponder on this and reflect on our own lives, on our own actions and deeds. Have we been considered to be among those who walk in the path of the Lord, or are we still under the control and the influence of our human desires, our greed and lust, our apathy and indifference, and our inability to distinguish good from evil?

Let us all commit ourselves anew to the Lord, and let us walk from now on in His path, faithfully devoting ourselves to Him, so that in all things, we may bring glory to the Holy Name of our Lord, and be made worthy through our faith and deeds, that we may partake in the eternal inheritance and assurance of life eternal that He had promised us all with. May God be with us all, now and forever. Amen.

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Friday, 29 January 2016 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 4 : 26-34

At that time, Jesus also said, “In the kingdom of God it is like this : a man scatters seed upon the soil. Whether he is asleep or awake, be it day or night, the seed sprouts and grows, he does not know how. The soil produces of itself : the first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when it is ripe for harvesting, they take the sickle for the cutting : the time for the harvest has come.”

Jesus also said, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what shall we compare it? It is like a mustard seed which, when sown, is the smallest of all the seeds scattered upon the soil. But once sown, it grows up and becomes the largest of the plants in the garden, and even grows branches so big, that the birds of the air can take shelter in its shade.”

Jesus used many such stories, in order to proclaim the word to them in a way that they would be able to understand. He would not teach then without parables; but privately to His disciples He explained everything.

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Friday, 29 January 2016 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 50 : 3-4, 5-6a, 6bc-7, 10-11

Have mercy on me, o God, in Your love. In Your great compassion blot out my sin. Wash me thoroughly of my guilt; cleanse me of evil.

For I acknowledge my wrongdoings and have my sins ever in mind. Against You alone have I sinned.

What is evil in Your sight I have done. You are right when You pass sentence and blameless in Your judgment. For I have been guilt ridden from birth, a sinner from my mother’s womb.

Fill me with joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice. Turn Your face away from my sins and blot out all my offenses.

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Friday, 29 January 2016 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Samuel 11 : 1-4a, 5-10a, 13-17

In the spring of that year, when kings usually set out to fight, David sent out Joab, his officers and all the Israelite troops. They slaughtered the Ammonites and attacked Rabbah, while David remained in Jerusalem.

One afternoon, David got up from his siesta and took a walk on the roof of the royal house. From the rooftop, he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful. David sent to inquire about the woman, and was told, “She is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah, the Hittite.” So David sent messengers to have her brought to him.

As the woman saw she was with child, she sent word to David, “I am with child.” David then sent a message to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. When Uriah came, David asked him about Joab, how the people were and how the war was proceeding; then he told Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.”

Uriah left the palace and the king had a portion from his table sent to him. Uriah, however, did not go down to his house but slept by the door of the king’s palace with all the servants of his lord. David was told that Uriah did not go down to his house.

David invited him to table and he ate and drank until he was drunk. When evening fell, however, he went to lie down on his couch with the guards of his lord instead of going down to his house. The next morning, David wrote Joab a letter to be taken by hand by Uriah, in which he said, “Place Uriah in the front row where the fighting is very fierce and then withdraw from him so that he may be struck down and die.”

When Joab was attacking the city, he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew was being defended by strong warriors. And the defenders attacked the men of Joab. Some of David’s soldiers and officers were killed; Uriah the Hittite also died.

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Thursday, 28 January 2016 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the message of the Sacred Scripture telling us that God had promised David and his descendants a rich blessings, for if they stayed faithful as David was faithful to God, then forever they should enjoy the rich fruits of God’s grace and blessings, and God promised David that his kingdom would last forever, a prophecy which was fulfilled through his Heir, Jesus, Who was both Son of God and descendant of David Who would rule over all creation forevermore.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is linked closely to what Jesus our Lord Himself in the Gospel passage we heard today, about the light that should be placed on a lampstand or otherwise it would become useless, which is in essence, the usefulness of all of us who have received God’s graces and blessings, the gifts of the Holy Spirit which He had poured onto us.

King David is an example of those who have listened to the Lord, followed in His path, walked along the path of salvation, and practiced their faith in God in real actions. And as we heard our Lord Jesus spoke to His disciples today, we also heard how He said of those who have produced something more, more shall also be given to them, while from those who have produced little or none, even whatever they had will be taken away from them.

This means that if we are faithful, and act in the way that God has prescribed for us, doing things that please the Lord our God, then our reward shall be great, and He will bless us and glorify us in the life that is to come. But if we are not faithful, then we shall be cast out and have no part in the inheritance and in the blessings which our Lord promised to all those who believe in Him.

It is therefore a challenge to us, whether we are willing to go forth and challenge ourselves to break ourselves free from the trap of our comfort zone. Indeed, it is good for us to remain in our comfort zone, among those who loves us and cares for us, but it does us no good as we remain in lack of action, in apathy and without good graces of our faithfulness that bring us no blessing from God.

If we do not do anything to help our brethren who are in need of our help, even though we are perfectly capable of doing so, then their fate will also fall upon us, as remember that sin is not just the sin of action, but also the sin of omission. All of us who have the faith in God and who have received the Lord’s Holy Spirit have been given the strength to carry forth the words of the Holy Gospels to the many nations and peoples.

If we do not carry out our mission and obligation as what has been given to us, then we are truly like light that has lost its light, or like in another parable that Jesus had delivered to His disciples, likened to salt that has lost its taste and saltiness. What else can be done to these useless things but to dispose of them and to throw them away?

Instead, today, after having heard of the faithfulness of king David, let us also hear the faithfulness of the great saint whose feast we celebrate today, that is St. Thomas Aquinas, a great theologian, philosopher, writer and a great thinker, and ultimately a great and yet humble servant of the Lord. St. Thomas Aquinas was renowned for his theology and for his numerous writings which became the foundation of many theological teachings of the Church.

St. Thomas Aquinas was a Dominican priest who devoted his entire life into researching the depth of the Lord’s great knowledge, and by trying to comprehend even a small portion of the Lord’s mystery, he helped bring more and more people, many souls closer to the Lord’s presence. He also ministered to those who have not yet understood the word of God, and helped open their eyes to the Lord and to His will.

He had many opponents, those who were jealous of his popularity and his teachings, those who refused to believe in his way of thinking, and those who thought of him as a nuisance and as a threat to their own existence and power. And he was indeed persecuted and ridiculed at times, but he continued to devote himself without end, and continued to persevere and work hard for the sake of the Lord and His people.

From this, surely all of us can gain the rich insight and experiences, and from all these let us all draw the strength and inspiration to be more committed and devoted disciples of our Lord, that in all the things we say and do, we will be able to commit ourselves ever more and do more for the sake of God, and therefore be justified through our righteous actions, and like king David, be granted eternal blessings and eternal grace. God bless us all always, now and forever. Amen.

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Thursday, 28 January 2016 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Mark 4 : 21-25

At that time, Jesus also said to His disciples, “When the light comes, is it put under a tub or a bed? Surely it is put on a lampstand. Whatever is hidden will be disclosed, and whatever is kept secret will be brought to light. Listen then, if you have ears!”

And He also said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear. In the measure you give, so shall you receive, and still more will be given to you. For to the one who produces something, more will be given, and from him who does not produce anything, even what he has will be taken away from him.”